“The First Freewill Baptist Church of West Gardiner was organized October 26, 1826, by Elders Samuel Hathorn and Josiah Farwell, with fifteen members. Services were held in school houses till 1840, when a church was built, at a cost of $1,100, on the Litchfield road near Samuel Grover’s. Elder Josiah Keene preached the dedication sermon, and Elders Nathaniel Purrington, Mark Getchell and Isaac Frost took part in the services. In 1842 fifteen members left this church to join the Second church on High street. About 1887 the White House, as it was called, was moved to Spear’s Corner—a location nearer the center of the society, where the congregation has grown till it is the largest in town. The records are kept by Ezekiel Ware.”

“Ezekiel Ware says the Second Calvanist Baptist Church was organized about 1830. The church and society, which had no house, held meetings in a school house near Spear’s Corner. It has been extinct for many years. Among the early preachers were Reverends Bedel, Hooper and Mitchel. Among the teachers were Elias Fairbanks and James Littlefield. No records of the church are extant.”

Reference Data:

Illustrated History of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1799-1892, Part 2, by Henry D. Kingsbury and Simeon L. Deyo, 1892, pages 676-7